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New York Yankees

Previously known as Baltimore Orioles (1901-02), New York Highlanders (1903-12).
Also known as: New York Americans (Officially: 1903-12; unofficial names for this period were New York Porchclimbers [1903-04], New York Burglars [1903-04], New York Invaders [1903], Greater New Yorks [1903- short lived] and New York Hill Toppers [1903-12])

The New York Yankees have a long and storied history. Even their recent history captures the ultimate highs and lows of the sport, from winning four World Series Titles in five years (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000), to being the first team to lose a playoff series after leading 3 games to none (2004).

For most of the first decade of the 20th century the Highlanders were a middle-of-the-pack team, finishing as high as second in 1904, and as low as last in 1908. In 1904 the Highlanders lost the pennant in the last weekend of the season. Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Chesbro threw a wild pitch in the ninth inning that allowed the winning run to score, losing the game and season for the Highlanders. It was an unfortunate ending for a historic season for Chesbro, in which he won 41 games. For most of the decade, the team was managed by Clark Griffith who was also a star pitcher for the first half of it.

The Highlanders fared no better in their second decade than in their first. A 2nd place finish and a 3rd place finish sandwiched a decade of second division finishes in the 1910s. Despite little change in the standings, the decade was filled with change nonetheless. In 1912 the famous pinstripe design of the Yankees uniform debuted. The next year, the club changed its name from the Highlanders to the Yankees and moved from Hilltop Park to the Polo Grounds. In 1915, Farrell and Devery sold the team to Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Houston. Ruppert and Houston led the team to their success in the next decade. The Yankees also saw their first no-hitter in 1917 when George Mogridge no hit the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Finally, in 1918 the Yankees hired manager Miller Huggins who would lead them to the promised land in the 1920s.

Note: The name Yankees was first used by sportswriters Mark Roth of the New York Globe and Sam Crane of the New York Journal, the name appearing in print for the first time on June 21, 1904 in the Boston Herald.

In 1929 the team began to wear numbers on their uniforms on a permanent basis, becoming the first team to do so. The decade ended on a sad note though as in September Miller Huggins died of blood poisoning.

The Yankees did not finish lower than 3rd place in the entire decade of the 1930s. Manager Joe McCarthy came to the team in 1931 and led the team to the World Series five times and won all five, including four straight from 1936 to 1939.

The 1940s were another strong decade for the Yankees. Five American League pennants and four World Series titles marked the decade for the club. They were once again led by all time greats as after McCarthy left the team he was replaced by two more Hall of Fame managers, first Bucky Harris in 1947 & 1948 and then Casey Stengel took over the team in 1949. The decade also saw a change in ownership as the Ruppert family sold the ballclub to the group of Dan Topping, Del Webb and Larry MacPhail in 1945. The new ownership also changed the President and general manager as Ed Barrow was replaced with MacPhail. The decade started well as the 1941 season brought the historic 56 game hitting streak by Joe DiMaggio. The team also played its first night game in 1946.

The 1950s may have been the most romanticized decade of Yankees baseball. The decade began with the team continuing their streak of 5 straight World Series titles from 1949 through 1953. All together the Yankees won 8 American League titles and 6 World Series titles. In one of those World Series victories even more history was made. In 1956 pitcher Don Larsen threw a Perfect Game against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The 1960s started off with a bang. The Yankees won five straight American League titles to start the decade and two World Series. They were on the wrong end of the historic Bill Mazeroski home run in the 1960 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After losing the series the Yankees pushed Casey Stengel into a premature retirement. But things went much, much better in 1961. The 1961 Yankees are considered one of the greatest teams of all time. A 109-win regular season, a (then) single season record for home runs in a season and a World Series victory over the Cincinnati Reds were just part of the reason. They are also remembered for the home run chase by the M&M boys. Both Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris went after Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a season. A late-season injury slowed Mantle but Maris went all the way hitting his 61st home run on the last day of the season.

At the start of the 1970s the Yankees were once again a middle-of-the-pack team. The team relied on mainstays White and Stottlemyre and youngsters Thurman Munson and Bobby Murcer to keep them from the cellar. In 1974 the Yankees got a change of ownership as George Steinbrenner purchased the team from CBS. Steinbrenner vowed to be a "hands-off" owner. The early 1970s Yankees did see some history despite their mediocrity on the field. Former first round pick Ron Blomberg became the first designated hitter to hit in a Major League game in 1973.

The Yankees used this collection of stars to win three straight American League titles from 1976 to 1978 and World Titles in 1977 and 1978. The 1978 season is remembered for the Yankees coming back from 10 and half games behind the Boston Red Sox on July 24th to win the division in a one-game playoff, capped off with Bucky Dent's unlikely home run off Mike Torrez.

The decade ended on a sad note when on August 2nd1979 team captain Thurman Munson died in a plane crash. Few Yankees fans will forget the sight of teammate and friend Bobby Murcer, who had only been reacquired a month earlier, crying in the outfield when the team returned to the field days later. The end of the decade was also marked by Steinbrenner's habit of juggling managers: Billy Martin was fired mid-way through the 1978 season, was replaced by Bob Lemon who led the team to the World Championship, then came back in mid-1979, but was fired at the end of the season. The merry-go-round of short-term managers, many coming back time and again, would continue until Joe Torre's appointment at the helm in 1996

The decade did have its bright spots though. The team signed Dave Winfield to a 10-year contract to start the decade. Winfield played well throughout the deal but could not overcome the perception of a bad post-season in 1981 in the eyes of Steinbrenner and many fans. The real darling of the decade was first baseman Don Mattingly. Mattingly, who would win the 1985 AL MVP Award, quickly became the face of the franchise and was considered one of the best players in baseball. The team also acquired Rickey Henderson in 1985. Henderson, who spent just four years with the Yankees, was the team's all-time leader in steals until Derek Jeter finally passed him in 2011. This gave the Yankees three perennial All-Stars in the starting line-up from 1985 to 1988. They were also joined by Willie Randolph in 1987 to make it a foursome. The 1980s Yankees also featured two other fan favorites: Rags and Pags. Dave Righetti and Mike Pagliarulo were a pair of popular Italian-American players who were quickly taken in by fans. Righetti received special affection for his July 4th1983No-Hitter over the hated Boston Red Sox.

One would be remissed to talk about the Yankees of the 1980s and not mention the revolving door at manager during the decade. George Steinbrenner showed little patience during this time, making fifteen managerial changes during the decade. In total, eight different men managed the Yankees during the decade.

By 1995 the Yankees were back in the post-season for the first time since 1981 (they would have played in the 1994 post-season, had the strike not wiped it out, as they held the American League's best record at the time the remainder of the season was cancelled). In an exciting series, that was seen to legitimize the wild card, the Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners in five games. This series was the first playoff games and the final games of Don Mattingly's career as the team captain retired after the season. The team moved quickly to replace him, acquiring Tino Martinez, along with Jeff Nelson, from the Mariners. After the 1995 season manager Buck Showalter left the team to begin the expansion process with his next team, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After winning the 2000 World Series the Yankees had great success in the regular season in the 2000s, winning 9 straight division titles starting in 1998. The streak ended in 2007, as the team lost the division title to the Boston Red Sox, but they kept their post-season streak alive for one more season by clinching the American League wild card. The Yankees had problems in the post-season however. They lost the World Series twice in the early 21st century, first to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and then to the Florida Marlins in 2003. They also lost the American League Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in 2004, after leading the series 3 games to none. This was the first time in history that a team had lost a playoff series after attaining such a lead. In 2002, 2005 and 2006, they failed to advance out of the first round of the playoffs. Many of the team's stars from the late 1990s dynasty retired and were replaced with high-priced players who did not perform as well. At the end of the 2006 season, only Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams remained from the 2000 World Series Champions.

The 2000s were not without high spots, though. Most of these high points came in the heated rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. Aaron Boone put himself down next to Bucky Dent in Yankees-Red Sox history with his historic game- and series-winning home run in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. That year on July 1st, Derek Jeter made an amazing catch diving into the stands at Yankee Stadium in a classic 13-inning game between the two AL East powers.

The Yankees finished in second in the AL East in 2007, but still won the American League wild card to advance to the playoffs. It was the first time they had not won the division since the addition of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the American League. After the season, Joe Torre opted not to return as manager. With former catcher Joe Girardi at the helm the Yankees failed to make the post-season for the first time since 1993 in 2008. The team made major changes that off-season, bringing in three of the top free agents by signing C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira to long-term deals starting in 2009. 2009 would also be the first year of a New Yankee Stadium and after a slow start (with Rodriguez absent because of a hip injury), the Yankees started winning and passed Boston and Tampa Bay in the standings to finish with the best record in the majors by a significant margin. They reached the World Series thanks to outstanding performances by Rodriguez and Sabathia in the first two rounds in the postseason, then defeated the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in the Fall Classic to claim their 27th title, closing the decade with a flourish. Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui was the MVP of the World Series.

The Yankees were again in the postseason in 2010, after a season in which they battled with Tampa Bay down to the wire for the AL East crown, leaving the Red Sox in their dust. The season was highlighted by outstanding performances by Teixeira and Sabathia, who won 20 games, and Robinson Cano, who emerged as a genuine superstar. However, they ran into an unexpected problem in the ALCS, losing in 6 games to the Texas Rangers led by P Cliff Lee. With long-time starting rotation mainstay Andy Pettitte retiring after the season, they made a bid for Lee's services in the off-season, but lost out and had to head into the 2011 season with a patched-up starting rotation that featured two retread veterans, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, and rookie Ivan Nova. However, the group held, and the offense led by CF Curtis Granderson, who found heretofore unsuspected power, and a defense anchored by C Russell Martin were both solid. The season was highlighted by two milestones from Derek Jeter: his 3,000th hit, and his passing Mickey Mantle for most games played by a member of the Yankees. That year, they also became the first team ever to hit three grand slams in one game. The year ended again in the ALCS, when Derek Jeter fractured his ankle in Game 1 and the Yanks were swept by the Detroit Tigers. 2013 was a trying year, with Jeter barely able to play because of the previous year's injury, Alex Rodriguez injured over the first half and embroiled in the Biogenesis scandal and Teixeira also hurt almost all season. As a result, the Yankees finished well out of the postseason, in spite of Mariano Rivera being as good as ever in his farewell season. The following off-season, Robinson cano left as well, enticed by a long-term contract offered by the Seattle Mariners, but Teixeira and Jeter were back, the latter for a final season. The Yankees went on a spending spree that off-season, signing OFs Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury, C Brian McCann and Japanese P Masahiro Tanaka, in addition to a couple others.

The Yankees have had sixteen captains in their history. For many years the team did not officially recognize some of their earliest captains. Clark Griffith was the first captain holding that position for the 1903-1905 seasons. In 1906 he was replaced by Kid Elberfeld. Elberfeld would also replace Griffith as manager during the 1908 season. Willie Keeler was named captain for the 1909.

In 1935 first basemen Lou Gehrig was named the fifth captain in Yankees history. Gehrig would hold the position for four years until his retirement in 1939. Following his death in 1941 it was announced that the Yankees would never have a captain again.

For thirty-five years the Yankees kept this promise. But in 1976 the Yankees named Thurman Munson the new team captain. The catcher rewarded the Yankees by leading them to the American League title and winning the MVP award. Munson's career also ended tragically, though, as he died in a plane crash in 1979. Three years later, the Yankees named a new captain, as third basemen Graig Nettles took over the role. Nettles would only get in two years on the job before being traded to the San Diego Padres. 1986 saw the first co-captains in Willie Randolph and Ron Guidry. The teammates were the last remaining members of the late 1970s championship teams. They both held the position until 1989, when Guidry retired and Randolph signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent. After going without a captain for the 1990 season, the club named Don Mattingly captain. The announcement came shortly after he signed a five-year deal through the 1995 season. After that season Mattingly stepped down from the position and retired.

It was another seven years before the Yankees named a new captain. In 2003, shortstop Derek Jeter was named the new captain of the Yankees. Jeter held the position until his final season in 2014. When he retired, there were once again calls that the title be retired in perpetuity.

The Yankees famous uniform design features a white and navy pinstripe combo for home games and gray jerseys with New York written on the chest for road games. The hat for both road and home games is navy blue with a white interlocking NY. The Yankees have retired 17 uniform numbers. Those numbers are displayed in Monument Park. For more information see New York Yankees uniforms.